The North Devon Coast AONB is defined by its Special Qualities. These are what make our AONB so special. There are 14 Special Qualities and for each of these we have chosen a place within the AONB where you can see what we mean.

Special Quality 10 –  Historic landscape pattern of hedge-banks, farmsteads, hamlets, villages and lanes.

The North Devon Coast has an intricate pattern of hedge-banks and settlements which record man’s influence on the landscape through time. Of particular interest are the small enclosed strip fields as seen here in Croyde and in parts of Combe Martin, a living reminder of enclosure of the traditional open medieval strip field system. A survivor of these open field system can be found at Braunton Great Field one of only two surviving field systems in the country.